Florida Day Four. Everglades: Manatees, Birds But No Mosquitoes On Hikes In Flamingo

I set my  alarm for about 15 minutes before the sunrise my first night in the  Flamingo Lodge in the Everglades National Park.  I didn’t have far to go to watch the sunrise.  I was able to make a cup of coffee and  was still able to  make it to the Florida Bay to watch the sunrise in the clear blue skies. The bay was just  a few hundred feet from my lodge.

It was a cool, clear  morning.

I listened to the sounds of ospreys, red bellied  woodpeckers, and gray  cat birds singing in the morning twilight. As I waited for the sun to rise in the east, I saw a few great egrets, great blue herons fly overhead and  I watched  this spotted  sandpiper wading  in the waters  along the shore.

It was a beautiful sunrise.  And I great place to watch it at in this former fishing village located at the southern tip of the Florida Everglades.

After watching the sunrise, I drove to the Echo Pond.  It is located near the campgrounds  about a mile  form the lodge. ,Eco Pond, which once a small freshwater lake and a great burning spot. A hurricane in 2005 increased the salinity of the pond , but it is still a favorite birding  spot in the southern Everglades.  I have seen rosette spoonbills, painted buntings and many other birds   on previous visits to  this small wildlife sanctuary.

It was a pleasantly cool morning with  the temperatures around 60° when I arrived at the pond .

As I walked around the pond  I saw  this  great egret,

and green heron  wading in the shallow waters.

A  few white ibises were searching for food in the tree stumps on the island in the middle of the pond .

I continued  on the trail around the pond and,

and saw an American crow,

and a white eyed vireo in the trees.

I also saw this great blue  herons wading in the pond .

A red shouldered   hawk landed in a tree high above the trail,

and this red bellied woodpecker was in a tree near the ground. 

A bird that alludes  me on my walks in the wetlands near  my home in Northeastern Pennsylvania, a belted kingfisher, flew over and perched in a tree right across from the observation deck I was standing on.

A northern cardinal   flew over and perch in a  the tree across the pond .  It was a nice  hike with so many birds active around the Eco Pond.

Unfortunately, I wouldn’t see as many  birds or other wildlife on the Coastal Prairie Trail. This 11 mile trail along the Florida  Bay begins on  the C Loop in  the abandoned section of the Flamingo campground. It passes the ruins of the old Flamingo fishing village and ends at a primitive campsite on Clubhouse Beach. I have only hiked few  miles on the trail.

The trial begins under Spanish  moss covered hardwood trees.

It is always a beautiful hike under the moss in the morning sun.  This year was very different from my previous hikes on this trail. It was very dry and there were no  mosquitoes, not a one. I usually walk through mud and I am swarmed by mosquitoes.

I walked about a 1/2 mile when the Bayshore  Loop Trail led to the Florida Bay. 

I followed this trail through the buttonwood trees and succulent saltwort plants which were almost overgrowing the trail.

I heard many northern cardinals and common yellowthroats along the trail. They would some of the few  birds I would see on my 4 mile hike.

The trail took me to the  dense thickets of red and black mangrove trees along the bay. A few years the trail was flooded and impassable here.

I took in the views of the bay,

and saw a few white ibises feeding in the muck along the shore.

I followed the Bayshore Loop Trail back through the saltwort plants,

to the dry Coastal Prarie Trail. The prairie is created when hurricanes  spew the salty much along the shore inland. The salty soil only allows a few species of plants such as  the saltwort,  annual seablite  buttonwood and creasote bushes.

Unlike last year, when it was muddy  and very difficult to hike this year the trial was very dry and easy walking.

These dried  footprints were probably months old.

The trail took me through the open white, sandy  prarie then  with onyl saltwort  plants and then a area where the trail paseed through a grove of buttonwood trees.

I hiked out only about another 1/2 mile   when I decided to hike back.  I wanted to have breakfast at the lodge which ended at 10 a.m. It is the only restaurant for 50 miles.

I walked on the dry sandy trail, past the now isolated buttonwood trees in the strong morning sun.

I  usually see and hear ospreys perched ont he dead  trees on the prairei. This year there were none but I did see this American kestrel.

I came back through the hardwood woodland and the Spanish moss. 

Here I saw  few more birds, including a black and white warbler,

a few northern mockingbirds,

and this prairie warbler.

I finished my 3 mile hike  in the abandoned campground,

and drove back to the lodge for filling breakfas at the lodge. The breakfast is included in the stays at the lodge. The vegegie omelet and toast were delicious  they did not have real home fries. The potato squares are not my favorite but I had little choice since it is the only resaturant in Flamingo. 

After breakfast I walked on the Guy Bradley Trail again,

past the  Visitor Center and the large Spanish moss covered trees.  and

to the marina.

Here I saw a group of folks  gathered at the edge of the marina watching a  couple of manatees swimming in the clear blue waters.

I always love to see these slow and  awlward mammals swimming in the warm Florida waters.

This mother and her offspring approached the dock.

It was another amazing encounter. A grpoup of folks  followed the pair to another dock when,

three more manatees swam into the marina.

And, as they approached the docks, another pair appeared. There were seven manatees in the marian. It was amazing experience. I spent awonderful  hour watching this beautiful animals that are threatened from loss of environment . Here is a link to a gallery with some more photos of the  manatees  I saw  at the marina.  . Florida Day Four. Flamingo  manatees  February 10 2026.

I left the manatees and walked along the marina to the osprey nest. I have seen ospreys  here on all my previous visits  I was sad to  find they ospreys where not nesting there this year,

There were a few laughing gulls  along the dock.Here is a link to a gallery with some more photos of the  birds I saw on my  morning hikes on the trails in Flamingo . Florida Day Four. Flamingo birds February 10 2026.

I walked around the marina hoping to see a crocodile, as I have in the past, but there were none this year.Here is a link to a gallery with some more photos from  my morning hikes in Flamingo  Florida Day Four Flamingo morning February 10 2025. 

I left the marina and walked back to the lodge where I spent the afternoon enjoying my patio overlooking the Florida Bay and editing photos, I had hiked over 5 miles in the morning and planned to rest a bit but it was a beautiful evening in the Everglades.  So I drove back out to Eco Pond late  in the afternoon.

I saw some of the same  birds I had seen earlier, the egrets, herons and northern cardinals, and also this great crested flycatcher.

After walking around Eco Pond I drove to the abandoned campground.

I parked and walked through the old campground.   There was a wildfire in the campgrouind since my last visit and I walked over the charred ground.

Walking through  the abandoned campsite had me reflecting on the many folks who camped here over the years,  Where did they come from?  Where were they going? How many are still alive and how old are they? So many wonderful memories must have been made here.

It is sad the fire destroyed so many large old trees, especially the native ones like this gumbo-limbo tree.

Brazialan pepper trees

were also dammaged in the fire.

I found these unfamiliar pods on the fire charred  ground.

When I  tried to open and unopened one  it popped open scattering it’s seeds on the ground. I learned they are West Indian mahagony seed pods and are native to the southern Everglades and the Keys.

I continued to explore the abandoned campsites and the restrooms.

I wondered who was the last person to use this sink and what they are doing now, if they are still alive.

The rays of the setting sun illuminiated the  trees that survived thefire in the campground.

A flock of common ravens landed in one of the trees cawing loudly  and disturbing the quiet of the campground.

I finished my 2 1/2 mile hike as the sun was setting in the west,  casting long shadows as I rerturned to my Jeep.  Here is a link to a gallery with some more photos of the  from my hikes in the abandoned campground. .  . Florida Day Four. Flamingo campground  February 10 2026.

I drove back to the lodge and had another great meal at the lodge, the same as  the previous night a mahi mahi sandwich but this time a fresh garden salad instead of the black bean salad. It was another long day, I had hiked over 8 miles again, but I enjoyed exploring the Everglades, especially my encounter with the manatees. I returned to my room and enjoyed sitting on my patio for a little while. It was a cool night and not many sounds but it was still a beautiful evening. I retired early again, looking forward to another hike before I left the Everglades this year.

There are no other Everglades in the world. They are, they have always been, one of the unique regions of the Earth; remote, never wholly known. Nothing anywhere else is like them. -Marjory Stoneman Douglas

 

“The sum of the whole is this: walk and be happy, walk and be healthy. ‘The best of all ways to lengthen our days’ is not, as Mr. Thomas Moore has it, ‘to steal a few hours from night, my love;’ but, with leave be it spoken, to walk steadily and with a purpose. The wandering man knows of certain ancients, far gone in years, who have staved off infirmities and dissolution by earnest walking, hale fellows close upon eighty and ninety, but brisk as boys.” -Charles Dickens